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Report: Sports Ministry plans overhaul of Nigerian football, blames World Cup failure on NPFL’s weakness

After senior executive members of the Nigeria Football Federation met the Sports Ministry last Monday, details of some of the issues discussed have emerged.

According to Complete Sports, the Ministry plans to overhaul the Nigerian football ecosystem after blaming the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the World Cup on the failure of the Premier League in the country.

The ministry said the failure to make it to Qatar was disappointing and Nigerians were right to react to the abysmal showing.

The meeting also reportedly had an official from the Presidency in attendance as the NFF were granted an opportunity to explain what went wrong.

State of the Nigeria Professional Football League was sought by the Ministry as a report on the league was ordered.

Decisions on the technical make-up of the various national teams were also made by the Ministry.

The ministry is also believed to be waiting for the various reports it asked for before taking some of its decisions.

Some of the decisions reached after the meeting were;

  • The announcement of a three-man technical coaching crew of strictly Nigerian coaches to take charge of the CHAN Eagles.

 

  • Selection and invitation of 30 players to Super Eagles camp. The Ministry also reportedly gave its word to help find a suitable camp for the team.

 

  • An upgraded plan by the NFF on improving the NPFL to better standards as seen in some parts of Africa and Europe. The Ministry believes players from the league must be able to represent the Super Eagles at major tournaments.

 

  • Immediate roll out of plans for NFF election in September 2022

 

  • Search for foreign technical adviser with vast understanding of Nigerian and African football and the workings of the government.

Decisions were also reportedly taken on the Flying Eagles and Golden Eaglets team in order to prepare them for the competitions ahead.

Nigerians have called for a complete overhaul of Nigerian football as they yearn for the minimum standards necessary to place Nigeria better on the map.

With the 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers starting in June, the Super Eagles have very minimal time to bounce back and get back straight to business after the disappointment of the failure to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

 

 

This post was last modified on April 11, 2022 11:14 am

Rilwan Balogun

Rilwan is an editor, writer and loves every opinion.

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  • This man should resign already. He has not learnt anything. He is still making more mistakes on that seat.

    Improving the standard of our league to that of England, Spain etc is a very good one. But it will take this country a lot. Apart from the huge financial implications, it will take years, and many other factors and resources to get to that point. Mentality change or total overhaul of the country is also necessary to achieve such a lofty goal. This is because, the aspiration of every local player in Nigeria is to play in Spain, England etc. This aspiration is borne out of a number of reasons. One, there is great pride in playing outside the country. Two, players who ply their trade outside this country are more respected. Three, players who play outside this country earn more.
    Even if we decide to start paying local players the equivalence of what is paid in England, Spain etc, it won't stop players from leaving Nigeria. This is because, apart from being a thing of pride and respect, life and living over there in England and Spain etc is a lot better; better coaching, training, facilities, infrastructure, technological advancements, etc. Unless we would also overhaul Nigeria to be like England and Spain too, not just our league......lol. If not, our players will still be leaving the country in drove and at the end of the day, the story will remain the same, "our best players will still be outside the shores of the country".

    Essentially, the point I'm trying to make is that improving our league will have little or no effect on the SE. This is because, our best players will still be found outside the shores of Nigeria. Any player that is still in Nigeria then, it will either be that he is not good enough or it is just a matter of time before he leaves the country.

    League has little or nothing to do with performance.If national team performance is hinged on quality of league then, Egypt, South Africa, Tunisia etc don't have any reason to be losing to other countries in Africa.

    What we need to focus on is not improving the league standard but on quality players of players being invited to SE. Where they are based should not be the focus. Rather, what they can offer the team. As long as they are the best we have, they should be invited.
    Apart from getting the best players, having a good coach is also of paramount importance. Of what use are good players when the manager is not good. That is purely a waste of time. Currently, we have the players who can achieve almost anything we want, with proper proper management by a good coach.
    No doubt, we have good players, but couldn't qualify because the coach was bad. Then again, apart from having a good manager, the importance of good football administrators cannot be overemphasized. This is because, they are in charge of the whole football process. They make policies, provide funds, employ coaches, and a whole lot of other decision making and administrative nous. In sum, they are totally in charge. That is why if the administrators are not good, even if the coach and the players are very good, the team may not excel.
    So if football administrators select coaches based on sentiments instead of merit, impose players on coaches, don't take the welfare of the players too seriously, usurp the authority of coaches, don't allow coaches do their jobs etc, this could invariably affect the team.
    That is why I said that Mr. Dare, Mr. Pinnick, and all board members of the NFF should resign. We don't trust them going forward

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